Targeting both male and female youth residing in towns, villages and refugee camps in the northern West Bank, training aimed to enhance their entrepreneurial skills through a direct, ‘hands-on’ approach requiring every trainee to identify a business venture and, by the end of training, write and present a business plan for bringing their idea to fruition.

The training’s practical approach meant that participants gained both hands on-experience in business planning, and knowledge of key business management practices, such as product branding, financial record-keeping and business registration.

Through structured training, homework exercises and group-work, Dimensions’ trainers guided participants in business plan development over the course of training, helping them to define their business mission and plan its future development. At the Closing Ceremony, having drafted their business plans, participants presented these plans to their peers in the training group, and to an evaluation committee. Some participants have secured seed funding to start their businesses. Business ideas cover a wide range of sectors, including mobile-phone accessories, fashion and textiles, early-childhood care, services for the disabled and others.

Entrepreneurs drive economic growth and Dimensions Consulting hopes that this intervention will lead to the creation of viable businesses, while securing incomes for Palestinian households. The Closing Ceremony concluded with the distribution of completion certificates to trainees and the promise that, to every extent possible, TYO and Dimensions will help trainees to secure start-up funding for their business ventures.